Is Rust Running Slow? How to Make Rust Load Faster

Are you frustrated because Rust is taking a lot of time to load? If you go to Reddit, you’ll find that you’re not alone. Several users complain daily about Rust running slow. Despite its popularity, users have reported several performance issues while playing Rust, particularly when it comes to loading time. In this article, we go over strategies for how to make Rust load faster. 

Rust developers say that the game is still in the early development stage, which explains its mediocre performance. That said, it is one of the top games in the world, according to Steam Charts. Keep reading to learn how to speed up Rust. 

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What Is Rust? 

Rust is an online multiplayer survival game where players have to protect themselves from wildlife, the environment, and other players. In Rust, several players are positioned on a map where they have to live in a hostile environment and protect themselves from one another and wild animals, such as bears and wolves, using weapons. 

Beyond survival, players can create bases and join clans. Rust is one of the many popular games helping the video game industry thrive. According to Statista, US consumers spent 11.6 billion dollars on gaming in 2020. 

Facepunch Studios first launched the early access version of Rust in 2013. The developers released its full version five years later in 2018. Rust is a paid video game that costs $39.99 at the time of writing. It has now become one of the most popular survival games, with 12 million copies sold worldwide. 

Why Is Rust Running Slow? 5 Possible Reasons

Your reflexes and timing play an essential role in winning in Rust. Rust players have complained about many performance issues resulting in longer load times making the game slow. For instance, some users can find it challenging to aim accurately while others may not be able to load the game at all. Let’s look at five possible reasons why Rust might be running so slow on your computer. 

1. Poor Internet Connectivity. Internet issues can majorly affect Rust load times. A poor Internet connection or a bad server may slow the computer response and make loading times longer. Players are likely to see a delay in load time due to latency, which affects speed and can result in you not viewing the in-game action properly. 
2. Corrupted Graphics Driver. Rust loading times can also be affected by a corrupt or outdated graphics card driver. These issues may lead to frame rate issues while you’re in the middle of a quest, affecting your score, or even cause your game to crash. To compete with other PvP games, Rust has exceptionally high-quality graphics requiring the latest version of a high-quality graphics driver. 
3. Low RAM Due to Other Applications. Rust loading times can also be caused by low RAM. Rust uses a lot of RAM, and if your computer doesn’t have large amounts of it, running other applications in the background can have a major impact on its speed. One way to ensure your device has the accessories you need is to build your own gaming PC. 
4. Hardware Lacking a Good Cooling System. Rust’s graphical requirements can quickly heat your gaming system. Without an effective cooling system, your computer’s responses can be slow and can even get permanently damaged. This can happen when the CPU temperatures are increased drastically due to weak CPU fans. 
5. Corrupt Installation Files. A corrupt video game file is improperly written and can cause several problems, including frequent game stuttering, regular FPS drops, slow buffering time, and delayed response times. Try uninstalling and reinstalling the game. Sometimes, it can be an issue with the current version and you’ll need to wait on the dev team for Rust for bug fixes.

How to Speed Up Rust: 10 Tips

Although you can’t do anything if the game server is down, there are many simple steps you can take to make sure that nothing on your end is wrong. Some of these steps include getting the correct driver, following Rust system requirements, and checking updates on Steam. 

Restart PC and Your Internet Connection

The first thing you should try if Rust is lagging is restarting your Internet connection and computer system. First, exit the game and end all the tasks using the task manager. Next, reboot your system. Once you’ve done this, restart your Internet connection. If your Internet is still having connection issues, go to your network and Internet settings and use the troubleshooter.

Get the Latest Version of a Graphics Driver

If you have played Rust, you already know that it has premium graphics. Further, the developers of Rust keep on adding new elements frequently. If you have an outdated graphics driver, you may face graphical errors like abnormally slow walking speeds or asset models not properly appearing.

You need the latest graphics driver for a faster load time when you Rust. You can either update your existing graphics driver to fix the issue or you can go into Rust’s game settings menu and lower the graphics setting if your issue is that you have a weaker graphics card. Reducing the resolution, reflections, cloth physics, or other settings can help. 

Install Better Cooling in your CPU

Playing Rust for a long time can heat your PC, and a weak fan won’t be able to help the situation. You should get a powerful CPU fan or liquid coolants to boost game performance. These will help cool down the CPU temperature and prevent crashing or damage to your computer system. Luckily, you can easily upgrade or build your own desktop computer from scratch.

Close All Background Programs While Using Rust

Having 8Gb of Ram is one of the minimum system requirements to run Rust smoothly. Sometimes unnecessary programs running in the background can use up the memory Rust requires. Make sure you don’t have any apps running in the background before launching the game. 

Verify Game Files

The next thing you can do is check if corrupted installation files are the reason behind your game issues. You can check whether or not any of the original files have become corrupted through Steam. Go to your Steam library, right-click Rust, and select “Properties”. Next, click “Verify Integrity of Game Files” under the Local Files tab. This will let you check if you have the right configuration files or not. 

Free Up Disk Space 

Low disk space can slow down your system, so cleaning up your hard disk might be a good idea. Disk clean-up will help lots of unnecessary files from uninstalled apps on the operating system. The more hard disk space you have, the better your chances of faster load times. 

Install Rust on an SSD

Another way to load Rust faster is to reinstall Rust on a Solid-State Drive (SSD). This can lead to a considerable improvement in bootup and asset warm-up time. SSDs can also help reduce load times. Depending on your computer, you can either choose to install an internal SSD or get an external SSD. 

Ignore Asset Load

While launching Rust, asset loading can take up a lot of time. However, you perform an asset load skip by pressing the red X while the asset load happens. Once you click the X, the server will redirect you to the server selection step. Now, click on reconnect to load the game without loading assets. Remember that skipping this step can cause graphical errors and result in some unloaded textures. Repairing this can take a lot of time. 

Check Steam Client for Updates

Another way to speed up Rust load times and avoid some of the biggest issues users face when playing this game is to check Steam for updates. While Rust automatically installs updates on Steam, you may have to do a manual update. Go to Steam and click on the “Check for Steam updates” button located on the top left corner of your screen. Follow the steps to finish the update. 

Do Not Use Alt+Tab 

Rust developers have created the game in such a way that it doesn’t allow browsing the Internet while playing, so avoid pressing Alt+Tab while playing Rust. You will see quick performance improvements if you stop browsing while playing Rust. 

How to Make Rust Load Faster If None of This Works 

If you’ve tried everything listed above and still can’t load Rust properly, you can try uninstalling and reinstalling the game. When you re-install Rust, make sure that you’ve removed all the files related to the game. 

As a Windows user, you can also maximize your CPU performance. Windows 10 often places a balanced power plan that results in underutilization on the CPU. Additionally, you can also report a crash to the developer team.

How to Make Rust Load Faster FAQ